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MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 9, 2010

Brad Benjamin

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA

Q. Was it kind of a cool thing to be under par on Amen Corner for the Tournament?
BRAD BENJAMIN: Yeah, I told Jeff that when we were sitting on 14 tee that we played the tough holes good and gave a few away on some others.

Q. How does it feel? Are you kind of choking back tears a little bit? You were hanging so close doing everything until the last four holes.
BRAD BENJAMIN: I'm not going to be able to talk.

Q. Is it because of sadness or because of the round or a combination?
BRAD BENJAMIN: I don't know, I think it was lack of experience on my part. I could tell Jeff was getting as nervous as I was. He was kind of, we kind of experienced the same at the Public Links, which is good preparation, but it was just a whole different stage.
So I could tell that he wasn't sure what to do and he didn't want to tell me the wrong thing, so a little indecisive. We didn't know if we should lay up down the right or the left. And I've been missing it right all week, which is normally when I don't play my best.
Fortunately my short game was saving me, but yeah if I had to go back and hit one shot today, that would be it.

Q. Talk about the way you were scrambling again. Hitting a putter off the pine straw and all of a sudden with four holes to play you were there.
BRAD BENJAMIN: Yeah, no, I know. After playing this course for two days under tournament pressure I can see why a guy like Mickelson or I guess even Woods, because he doesn't drive real accurate, why they succeed out here. You got to beat up the par-5s, that's really your only opportunities. The par-4s and 3s are so difficult. And having a great short game around here is everything. It wasn't like I felt overly optimistic coming into the week about my short game, but just hit some good ones early on yesterday and kind of got my confidence going.

Q. How would you describe the week?
BRAD BENJAMIN: Just unforgettable.

Q. You talked about one of the things you wanted to prove here was your short game and you must, even though you didn't make the cut, you must feel better about being a pro with all the great chips you made, right?
BRAD BENJAMIN: Yeah, I mean I learned more shots this week than I think I have in my whole life. You have to be so creative around the greens and I mean you can just about hit all 14 clubs in your bag around the green. There's no right or wrong club, it's just a matter of getting up there and knowing what you want to do with it.

Q. Was that a 3-iron or something you chipped with on 18?
BRAD BENJAMIN: 18 I just took a lob wedge and bladed it. Just tried to get it running. That's the tough shots around these greens right now, I think they left the fairways a little bit longer than usual, I don't know why, but that's just what I've heard from a couple different players.
It's just a dream come true for me though. And you just think of all the people that helped get you here.

Q. What was it like having more cheers than the pros who were playing with most of the time?
BRAD BENJAMIN: Yeah. I had so much support from the crowd the whole week.

Q. As emotional as it was did you have a little fun out there playing?
BRAD BENJAMIN: Most fun in my life, that's why I'm so emotional. I'm wishing it didn't have to end.

Q. Were the nerves better at all today at all having been through it yesterday?
BRAD BENJAMIN: Yeah, I mean I was a hundred percent nervous on 1 yesterday. And today I was probably about 90. So I was still extremely nervous. But it felt better today.

Q. Do you ever get to where you take this for granted?
BRAD BENJAMIN: No, I couldn't. It's too special a place. I mean I played, what, a good 15 to 20 rounds on this course. And a time or two you catch yourself getting a little frustrated and you just got to step back and look at it. There's, I don't know how many people out here, but they would trade places with you in a minute.

Q. What are your plans now?
BRAD BENJAMIN: Just going to hang out here for the next couple day, stay in the Crow's Nest and hopefully watch a good tournament.

Q. I mean the rest of the summer.
BRAD BENJAMIN: I'm not sure. I don't have anything scheduled as of right now, but trying to play in a bunch of amateur events and just seeing where it takes me.

Q. Is turning pro something you've not decided yet?
BRAD BENJAMIN: Yeah, no, I think, I just don't want to really go the mini-tour route. I want to make sure I start at Q-School and I just feel like the mini-tours just, it's too much traveling for not enough money. And I think I can gain as much experience playing the great amateur tournaments around the country as I could on the mini-tours, so.

Q. What's the one thing you'll take away from this week?
BRAD BENJAMIN: Just knowing that I'm as good as most of the guys out here.

Q. (No microphone.)
BRAD BENJAMIN: Yeah, the sectional. That's another reason to stay amateur.

End of FastScripts

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